Expenses up by 80% in second wave, but tax receipts down, says Manish Sisodia

April-May this year were the months when Delhi saw its worst surge in Covid-19 cases, with the seven-day average of new cases soaring to 25,294 a day at it peak

The Delhi government on Thursday issued an order to rationalise spending, citing low revenue collection this year and high expenditure owing to the second wave of Covid-19 (fourth in the city). Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s finance minister, said the Capital’s expenditure increased by around 80% in the first two months of the financial year (April and May), compared to last year.

Manish Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s finance minister, said the Capital’s expenditure increased by around 80% in the first two months of the financial year. (HT Photo)

“The revenue receipts of Delhi have been ₹5,273.26 crore during the first two months of the financial year 2021-22 (April-May), while its expenditure has reached ₹8,511.09 crore. Delhi has incurred ₹3,237.83 crore more than its receipts which were met from last year’s savings,” Sisodia said.

Records showed that during the first two months of the financial year 2019-20 and 2020-21, the expenditure of the Delhi government was ₹4,705.14 crore and ₹4,965.58 crore respectively.

April-May this year were the months when Delhi saw its worst surge in Covid-19 cases, with the seven-day average of new cases soaring to 25,294 a day at it peak. This wave, the fourth in Delhi, claimed over 11,000 lives – as many as the previous three waves put together.

The Delhi government had to ramp up beds in hospitals and makeshift centres, procure supporting medical infrastructure, including medical oxygen, and manpower. It also forced the Delhi government to impose a strict lockdown from April 19 which continued for at least seven weeks.

“The tax collection has declined due to second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. But, the expenditure has increased in comparison to the previous years because of implementation of various measures to check the spread of Covid-19 in Delhi,” Sisodia said.

During the first wave of the pandemic last year, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had directed all government departments to stop incurring all expenses other than the salary of employees.

“Any expense other than those related to relief work pertaining to the coronavirus lockdown will need special permission from the finance department. The government needs to cut down expenses,” Kejriwal had said.